Overview

GLPI handles incident and request tickets that can be assigned to a group, profile or individual. Beyond the queue, it supports problem and change management, planning, recurring tickets, statistics, custom forms, approvals and SLA management. This makes it a stronger fit for teams with defined service processes than for those seeking only a basic ticket inbox.

Its inventory covers hardware, software and licenses as well as network equipment, certificates, domains, clusters and databases. Project workflows include Gantt and Kanban views; a knowledge base, reservations, reports and saved searches extend the platform into adjacent service work. That scope can bring related operations together, though organizations that need only one narrow function may find the range unnecessary.

Key features

Ticketing and access: Tickets can be assigned to groups, profiles or named owners. Eight profile types and standard and self-service interfaces support different access needs, and the self-service interface is free for end users.
Service workflows: Problem and change management, approvals, SLAs, planning and recurring tickets support more structured operations than ticket handling alone.
Inventory and projects: Broad asset records sit alongside Gantt and Kanban project workflows, a knowledge base, reservations, reports and saved searches.
Connectivity and authentication: Integrations include Azure/Entra ID, Google SSO, GLPI Inventory, webhooks, Active Directory, CAS and an API integration. External authentication can use LDAP, mail servers, CAS, X.509 certificates or web-server delegation.
Cloud safeguards: The cloud security policy says the OVHCloud firewall allows HTTPS only and blocks other protocols before they reach instances. Public-cloud backups are daily and retained for 30 days; private cloud adds hourly incremental backups to daily backups.

Pricing

GLPI is freemium: on-premise use has no licensing fees and no user or technician limit. The public-cloud offer has a 45-day trial with no obligation and no credit card required. Cloud suits teams seeking quick setup with minimal maintenance; on-premise is aimed at organizations with specific security or customization needs and an IT team.

Plan	Price and terms	What it fits
Public Cloud	19.00 EUR per month per user (IT agent), from 1 billed agent; 5 GB disk, 20 MB maximum attachments, shared CPU/RAM, 97% annual availability	A small team wanting managed hosting without an agent minimum. The modest storage and availability commitment are trade-offs.
Private Cloud	21.00 EUR per month per user (IT agent), minimum 25 billed agents; 50 GB disk, 20 MB maximum attachments, dedicated CPU/RAM, 99% annual availability	Larger teams prioritizing dedicated resources and a higher availability commitment; the 25-agent floor makes it a poor fit for a small service desk.
Custom	Custom quote	Teams needing a tailored cloud offer.
Custom Cloud	Custom quote; custom availability, unlimited disk space, custom RPO/RTO	Organizations whose storage or recovery requirements exceed the standard cloud packages.

Self-hosting itself is free, but GLPI Network plans add support and defined capacity limits. Prices below are monthly, excluding VAT:

Plan	Price	Included limits and support
GLPI Network Basic	100.00 EUR per month	Up to 10 technical staff, 500 assets, one production and one test instance, unlimited N3 support
GLPI Network Standard	300.00 EUR per month	Up to 50 technical staff, 5,000 assets, two production and two test instances, unlimited N3 support
GLPI Network Advanced	1000.00 EUR per month	More than 50 technical staff, more than 5,000 assets, four production and four test instances, unlimited N3 support
GLPI Network Enterprise	4500.00 EUR per month	Unlimited assets and instances, priority N3 support, three places on official training courses

The Network tiers make the trade-off explicit: free self-hosted licensing does not include the same defined support and instance allocation. Partners can also provide configuration and customization plus L1 and L2 support.

Platforms

GLPI supports Android, API, Linux, macOS, web and Windows, as well as self-hosted deployment. That mix suits organizations combining browser-based service work with an internally managed installation, while cloud customers can avoid much of the infrastructure maintenance.

Who it's for

GLPI is a strong candidate for IT departments that want ticketing, asset records and formal service workflows in one system, particularly when they have staff to manage a self-hosted installation or enough agents to justify cloud service. Organizations with specific security or customization needs may prefer on-premise deployment. A small team that wants managed hosting should compare the per-agent public-cloud price with the private-cloud 25-agent minimum before choosing.

Pros and cons

Pro: Ticketing, approvals, SLAs, change and problem workflows, and a wide-ranging inventory cover substantially more than a basic helpdesk.
Pro: Free on-premise licensing has no user or technician cap, leaving organizations room to scale without a per-seat software charge.
Pro: Cloud offers a no-card, no-obligation 45-day trial, and private cloud includes dedicated CPU/RAM with daily and hourly incremental backups.
Con: Private cloud starts at 25 billed agents, so its stronger availability commitment and dedicated resources come with a substantial minimum commitment.
Con: Public cloud uses shared CPU/RAM, offers 97% annual availability and has only 5 GB disk, which may not suit teams with tighter service expectations or larger storage needs.
Con: Self-hosting avoids license fees but requires an IT team; paid Network support tiers also cap staff, assets and instances until the Enterprise tier.

Alternatives

For a narrower need, compare GLPI with IT Knowledge Base Software, IT Service Catalog Software, IT Change Management Software, IT Problem Management Software, IT SLA Management Software or CMDB Software if that single category is the priority rather than GLPI's combined scope.

Choose Jitbit Helpdesk instead if you want a paid helpdesk with a perpetual-license option and Android, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, web and Windows support. Consider Matrix42 FastViewer if concurrent-session pricing and Android, iOS, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows platforms better match your needs. CompassDocs is worth comparing if a free self-hosted community plan with unlimited users and documents is the priority. iTop is another free option with an unrestricted Community plan and self-hosted support.

SuperOps is a paid alternative with endpoint-based pricing and a 100-endpoint minimum on its Prime plan. Tango may suit teams focused on capturing and sharing browser workflows, with a free tier capped at five shared workflows and 10 users per workspace. Hudu offers a paid monthly plan with no user minimum. Scribe is a freemium alternative for creating and sharing documentation, including a free Basic plan that works with any web app.

Verdict

Choose GLPI if your IT team wants support workflows and broad asset management together, and can either run the system itself or justify cloud agent costs. Its strongest case is the combination of unusually wide operational scope with free, uncapped on-premise licensing. Look elsewhere if you need a narrowly focused tool or cannot accept the cloud minimums and availability trade-offs.

	GLPI	Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Free trial	Yes
Paid from	€19/mo
Platforms	Android, api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	Web, Android, iOS
Free plan	Yes	Yes
SLA management	Yes
Knowledge base	Yes
Employee portal	Yes
Asset management	Yes
Single sign-on	Yes	No
Approval workflows	Yes
Mobile apps		Yes

GLPI vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk

GLPI

Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk